How students are being charged £9,000 tuition fees for courses that really cost just £6,000 to run

David Willetts said variations would mean universities would have to demonstrate value for money

Top universities charging £9,000 in tuition fees next year will milk students for up to 50 per cent more than the actual cost of their courses, it has emerged.

Analysis of leading research-based universities shows the cost of some teaching courses is well below £6,000 per year, meaning students will be paying thousands extra every year.

Those doing arts and humanities subjects like business studies, social studies and languages are being overcharged the most, as these are cheaper to run.

Students on these courses, which often require fewer facilities and teaching hours, will be subsidising more expensive programmes in the sciences.

Their money will also go towards providing thousands of pounds in bursaries for poorer undergraduates.

David Willetts, the universities minister, claimed the variations would make universities more accountable to students because they would have to demonstrate value for money. He also said it provided further justification for the coalition’s move to encourage some less prestigious universities to offer degrees at below £7,500 a year.

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But Liam Burns, president of the National Union of Students, said: ‘This is yet more evidence that the chaotic funding system has created perverse incentives for universities to hike their prices above cost.’

The figures, released by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, are based on data from 2009-10, and cover 47 subjects and seven groups of similar universities and colleges. Dentistry is the most expensive to teach, costing £15,881 a year in ten leading universities, all of which are charging £9,000.

Pricey: Universities charging £9,000 in tuition fees next year will be milking students for up to 50 per cent more than the actual cost of their courses

In another group of 28 leading research universities also charging the maximum fees, the average cost of a social studies course was £5,586 a year while business studies cost £5,734.

The cheapest are agriculture-related courses, costing £4,607 a year at two middle-ranking universities, but it is not known what fees will be next year.

Yesterday it emerged The University of Edinburgh Court is to discuss what charge to levy for students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

If follows last month’s decision at the University of Aberdeen to set the rate at £9,000 a year, with a fourth year free of charge.

Scottish Education Secretary Michael Russell said in June that universities will be able to increase fees following the raised cap south of the border.

But Robin Parker, president of the National Union of Students in Scotland, said: ‘We fully reject any increase in fees.’